Guidelines for Conducting Classroom Observations
The following guidelines can help ensure that the classroom observation process is conducted as unobtrusively as
possible and will help to make the site visit a positive experience for everyone involved:
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Assessors begin a classroom observation if the group includes at least one awake child and one teaching staff
member. Do not begin an observation if no children have arrived, or if all children have departed for the day, or if
there are children present but asleep.
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Classroom observations should last one hour (no more or less than 60 minutes). This means that the assessor stays
with children and staff for one hour, wherever they are. However, there are exceptions to the one-hour time rule. If
the class moves to an activity where the group is led by someone other than the primary caregiver(s) (e.g., music or
Spanish class), the assessor may pause in observation. The assessor is allowed, in addition to the one hour, an
additional 30 minutes of observing time if he/she does not get to adequately observe interior and/or exterior group
environments, meal times, or transitions.
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The hour observation can be broken up if there is a transition; however, the assessor must ensure that an entire hour
is captured for each classroom. If multiple groups each lunch together, multiple groups can be assessed on lunch
practices at the same time.
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Upon starting each observation, confirm the names of the teaching staff present and the status of other adults present
(parents, volunteers). It may be that the assessor can determine the names of the staff present by reading their name
tags, seeing their photos posted, or listening to their conversation. If none of these means is available, briefly ask
staff to confirm names, and then begin the observation. The assessor does not need to ask classroom staff about
children with special needs, or dialogue with them about what the children are currently doing. Keep all talk to a
minimum.
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Do not interfere with the classroom activities in any way. The assessor should be as unobtrusive as possible and
move if he/she is in the way of teachers or children.
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The assessor should station him/herself around the perimeter of the classroom as inconspicuously as possible. He/she
may walk around to get a better vantage point during the observation.
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The assessor may sit in a chair or on the floor. Do not sit on other furniture such as shelves, tables, the children’s
chairs near an activity table, or on play equipment.
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Assessors should refrain from talking to other assessors when in the classroom.
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The assessor must silence their cell phone.
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The assessor may acknowledge children if they approach, but do not otherwise take part in classroom activity. The
assessor can tell them that he/she is watching them play today or that he/she must finish their work.
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The assessor should try to keep a pleasant or neutral facial expression, so children and/or staff are neither drawn to
nor concerned about the assessor’s response to them.
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Assessors should not wear shoes into infant rooms that do not allow shoes. The assessor should wear weather-
appropriate attire to enable him/her to follow a group outside during the hour.
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Assessors are required to make notes within the assessment tool. They should note generally what went on in the
observation period. It may also be helpful to make criteria-specific notes in the margins throughout the tool, beside
the applicable measure; note what was observed that led to negative scoring for specific criteria. When writing
notes, assessors need to keep the notes as objective as possible. State the facts and describe what is seen. Keep the
notes specific to what is seen and what is occurring during the one-hour observation. Do not give general information
regarding the program, the weather, or situations unless they directly pertain to and have affected the observation.
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If an assessor witnesses the possible failure of a required measure during an observation, the assessor should write
detailed notes describing what child and/or adult was involved, the physical layout of the environment (if applicable),
the time or duration of the incident (if applicable), and the setting. If there is physical structure in the classroom that
is pertinent to the description of the incident, make the location and placement of the physical structure clear.
Example: no cognitive enhancements for the diaper changing table in an infant room would equal a failed required
measure.